Overview:
• During Mental Health Awareness month, Dr. Anisa Shomo shares her journey of using running as a coping skill for anxiety during medical school.
• She found relief through the Black Girls Run! community and recommends a suitable active sunscreen for training to prevent sunburn.
May is Mental Health Awareness month. I want to express gratitude for one of the most important aspects of my mental wellness: running. I started running during medical school at OSU. I found it helpful for managing anxiety during the test taking and clinical rotation years. I ran trails along the Olentangy River and at Jesse Owens track stadium. Both were in my backyard when I lived in graduate student housing at Buckeye Village. Running was a great coping skill in my toolbox during medical school. When I moved to Cincinnati, I stopped running because of the HILLS. I was also a busy resident and had less time. I switched to indoor kickboxing workouts.
My residency had an annual tradition to run the Flying Pig Marathon relay event. Of course, I signed up. It was during one of those relay events that I saw someone wearing a Black Girls Run! shirt and became curious. I discovered an entire community of Black women runners. It is a national organization that has free chapters in most major cities. They run, jog, and walk in races throughout the country. I decided to join the Cincinnati chapter on Facebook. I wanted to run the Flying Pig Half Marathon for my 30th birthday. It was amazing having a community of Black women to help learn about distance running. How do you find the right shoes? Shoe fitting at your local running store. How do you carry your phone during a run? Running belt. It was a game changer! With their guidance, I have completed approximately 30 half marathons and 3 marathons. I have been running for almost 20 years now. I still have questions. If you remember one of my first Herald Beauty pieces, I was in search of an active sunscreen. While training for the 2024 Flying Pig Half Marathon, I experienced a sunburn despite using regular sunscreen. I asked the Black Girls Run! Cincinnati group for active sunscreen suggestions and many said: Black Girl Sunscreen. I tried it before, but it caused my face to break out. They mentioned a newer product: “Make it Matte” gel sunscreen. This product works very well! The bonus is that it fits in my running belt to reapply during the race. I am happy that I found running, Black Girls Run! and Black Girl Sunscreen. Best wishes for finding your happiness.